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Lost Faith
Summary Full Text Warren: 'Warren sat with her forehead pressed to the table, ears flat, fingers tangled in her hair. She hated this. She hated it. She hated going into compromise mode, negotiating, begging, groveling; being at the mercy of one unstable and temperamental person after the next, begging for her life. She hadn’t felt this way since she’d been living on the run from High Central. Or since Stonegit, when he was soulless. Maybe Haddock was soulless now. She sat up and picked savagely at the table with her fingernails. Humans! Humans and their blind rage and corrupt governments and false beacons of hope…. This was ridiculous. She came here to help the half breeds. To make life better, to ESCAPE people who would threaten her, condemn others, lock everyone away. And here she was, under observation, a thread away from being thrown in a dungeon, perhaps executed. And for what? Giving someone a chance? Befriending someone who clearly needed it, someone branded as a monster? Well Warren had been called a monster too, plenty of times, but that didn’t mean she was one. There wasn’t a person on this planet who hadn’t done things they would take back. What gave Haddock the right to tell them who they could forgive? But then what were they supposed to do? Warren ran her hands over her face as her friends discussed their next move. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Haddock was wrong. She caught on to Grey’s proposal, and her face darkened further. “I’m not sure I even want his trust. He’s not in his right mind. How can he protect his people when he puts is pride above their lives? He almost stabbed Greg for standing up for you, and while you guys weren’t exactly respectful, this isn’t the Haddock I pledged allegiance to when I came here. I thought he could help us stand against High Central, but what difference have we made? What safety have we gained? When do things change?” She stood slowly, anger dissipating into fatigue and hopelessness. “I ''believed in Haddock when I came here. He was strong and brilliant and honorable. We rallied around him because he gave us hope and strength. He was a king then. Now he can barely handle himself, much less an army or a kingdom. Now a demon is less likely to harm us than our own leader.” The words tasted bitter in her mouth and she scowled. “So what if we earn his trust again? We’ve seen how easily it’s broken. Do we just go back to serving him in this rebellion? Are we even a rebellion? Are we helping the half breeds, some of whom are still in prisons probably, and who’s going to help them?” She was saying horrible things. Part of her mind told her she could be punished and shrank back, but the other part clenched her fists and persisted. “We could get kicked out for this! But who knows, maybe we’ll do more good on our own! I don’t want to leave this rebellion. But I want it to be worth staying for!” 'Grey Bergman: '''Grey stared at Warren in absolute shock. It was probably a long-shot, but…she was actually hoping that the half-Pooka would agree with her. Keep a low-profile and try to get back on the same page as Haddock again, and keep their make-shift family safe from possible imprisonment or execution. She hadn’t even seen the outburst coming… It hurt her to admit it, but…Warren did have a point. Was it worth it to try to get Haddock to trust them again when one slip-up broke it so suddenly? He hardly listened to her…to any of them as they tried to get him to see reason. How could they be sure that if they ever regained the King’s trust again…that it would stay that way? Would the Haddock, who welcomed her to join the rebellion a few months ago, had acted like this? Would he be so quick to threaten them after finding out that a few of his rebels made nice with a demon? She sighed trying her best not to get angry. The last thing she needed was more fighting. “W-Warren, I…I know that it doesn’t seem like it, but…we are making a difference by being here,” she said. “Humans and half-breeds are working together for a common cause, and I know that the results aren’t what we really want. But…these things take time. High Central is a power-hungry government, and it’s hard to focus on that when you have demons and Hel on our tails.” She nervously chuckled, but she quickly became serious again as she knelt down next to Warren and ran a hand through her best friend’s hair. "I know Haddock seems different, especially with the way he acted today," she continued, "but…we seem to forget what he’s been through. Nalaagura possessed him… There’s no telling what she did to his mind while she was in control, but I’m sure whatever it was…it did a number on him. As his rebels, we have to try to be there to stand by him and hopefully…slowly convince him that the Warden isn’t what he labeled her as…" '''Warren: '''Warren sighed. She propped her elbows up on the table and covered her face with her hands for a long moment. “Well I guess we have to go talk to the Warden then. As much as I hate the idea, it’s really the only thing we can do and we did promise we would….” Her arms dropped to the table. “Or rather, I did on your guys’ behalf. But… you know.” She groaned and buried her head in her arms. “This was just a dumb misunderstanding… a dumb mistake. I can’t believe it blew up into this…. I hope the Warden doesn’t get upset. I can’t handle anything else like that today.” '''Grey Bergman: 'It was Grey’s turn to sigh. “I know…I know,” she said lowering her head in shame. “I’m sorry…It’s all my fault. If I had just kept my mouth shut, none of this would’ve happened. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.” 'Warren: '"It’s fine. It happened, there’s not much we can do about it now…. Blaming yourself won’t make it better. I’m not sure what will. Time, I guess." She massaged her temples and looked over to Greg. "I know you’re not thrilled about this. I’m not either. But I don’t suppose you have a better idea, do you?" 'Greg Ericson: 'Greg rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. “No I don’t.” He replied “But I hate having to abandon her like this. I mean for all we know we are the only friends she has. I’m afraid of what’ll happen to her if we just leave her like this. But I also want to keep you guys safe.” Greg sighed in defeat. “I hate this.” 'Grey Bergman: 'Grey closed her eyes as Haddock’s words rang clearly in her head. ''"Perhaps you are more a fool than I thought." ''She took in another deep breath trying to keep the tears from falling and stood up walking over to her little brother. “I know you do,” she said placing a hand on his shoulder. “We all do, but for now, we have to do what’s best. Hopefully, she will understand, but…I promise to both of you. This was all my fault, and I will fix this. I’ll do whatever it takes to make things better again.” ' '''Warren: '“I’ll be there for whatever you need,” Warren said. “It’s all of our fault really, not that the blame matters. We’re in this mess together.” She gave Grey and Greg a watery smile. “Seems to be a trend these days.” 'Greg Ericson: '"Heh you’ve got that right. We’ve been getting into messes since the day we met." Greg chuckled as he remembered that day that seemed so long ago. "You guys remember that? Warren you got stuck under a Whispering Death, and we had to pull the thing off you." He laughed as he remembered trying to push the Dragon off of Warren. 'Warren: 'Warren giggled and covered her face. “Oh, I was so embarrassed! My first time on a mission for the rebellion, my first time training a dragon, and I get stuck under the thing and have to be pulled out by complete stranger. A knight in shining armor, coming to my humiliating rescue.” She grinned as she remembered, eyes far away. “What a first meeting…. So much has happened since then.” 'Greg Ericson: '"Yeah." Greg said smiling at the memory. "If only things were that simple still. Now our greatest enemy has become our friend, and Ragnarok is on our doorstep." Greg sighed. "How I long for the days of our youth, where the days were as that of a daisy. Simple and sweet and seemingly everlasting. Now the the dark time of age is upon us and we are forced to watch as that beauteous flower wilts and dies." 'Warren: '“Every flower withers when winter comes. Perhaps it’s that time now. But the snow will thaw, and the new blossoms are always prettier than the ones they replaced. I always thought so.” Warren moved to stand next to him, giving a small but reassuring smile. “However long the cold lasts, the best is still ahead of us.” 'Greg Ericson: 'Greg sighed. “You’re probably right. Still wish it was like that now though.” Greg paused before he looked her and asked. “Could I, maybe, have a hug? Everything’s so stressful right now, and I think I need one.” 'Warren: '"I know, this is hard. It’s not pleasant for any of us." Warren reached forward and took Greg’s hand, then stretched up to brush her lips against his before pulling him into a hug. "Of course. I think we all do." 'Grey Bergman: '"Uh…hello!" Grey suddenly said smiling. "I know you guys are in a relationship, but…I’m still your awesome unofficial adoptive big sister! Don’t I deserve a hug, too?" 'Warren: '“Well? Get over here then!” Warren hadn’t moved and the words were a little muffled by Greg’s shirt. She did extract one of her arms and stretch it out toward Grey in further invitation. 'Grey Bergman: '''Grey giggled as she ran into Warren and Greg’s embrace hugging them both tightly. She sighed in content feeling her adoptive siblings’ arms around her allowing her to forget about what just happened moments ago. It was nice to know that she had people, aside from Shadow and her parents, who would never leave her no matter what she did. “I love you guys,” she said. '''Greg Ericson: 'All of Greg’s emotions, his anger, his frustration, and now his love, had all built up and now he couldn’t help the tears that spilled from his eyes. “I love you too big sister.” He said with a sniffle. 'Warren: '''Greg was sniffing. Perplexed, Warren raised her head, then noticed his tears. She raised a hand and brushed the wetness from his cheek, smiling. “It’s okay. We’re all gonna be okay.” '''Greg Ericson: '''Greg smiled at Warren. “I know.” He said. “I know.” '''Grey Bergman: '''Grey smiled sadly as she ruffled Greg’s hair. She was about to something when she noticed something behind Greg. There was his dragon, Barry Manilow sleeping in the stall, but she noticed something in his saddle. “What in the name of Thor…?” she asked pulling away from the group. She walked over to where Barry slept and gently pulled a folded piece of paper out. “Greg, I think this is something for you.” '''Greg Ericson: '''Greg’s eyebrows scrunched together as he took the paper from Grey’s hands. “Now who would leave me a letter?” Greg asked as he unfolded the paper. His eyes scanned over the paper taking in it’s contents. After he finished he dropped his arm to his side and said. “She’s gone.” '''Warren: '"Gone? Gone where? Gone who?" Warren joined Greg at the saddle. "The Warden? Where would she go?" 'Greg Ericson: '"Yeah. It’s from her." Greg replied, "I-I don’t know where she went. I mean she didn’t say." He handed the letter to Warren and slumped back against Barry, saddened. "She didn’t- She didn’t even say goodbye."Category:Events Category:Season 4 Category:Greg Ericson Category:Grey Bergman Category:Warren